GAIL to spend Rs 751 crore to add new unit at petrochemical complex in Uttar Pradesh
GAIL (India) Ltd, the state-owned natural gas transportation and distribution utility, is planning to spend Rs 751 crore to add a new 60 Kilo Tonne Per Annum (KTPA) polypropylene unit at its Pata petrochemical complex in Uttar Pradesh. Polypropylene is a thermoplastic used in the making of consumer products, plastic parts for the automobile industry and textiles, apart from other applications. The complex produces low and high-density polyethylene from ethylene produced from the cracking of ethane and propane. In the process, the cracker also produces around 50 KTPA of polymer grade propylene which the company expects to use as a feed-stock for the proposed polypropylene unit. “GAIL is planning to utilize this propylene to set up a 60 KTPA Polypropylene unit in the existing complex at Pata. The proposed facility will be set-up along with the existing facilities at Pata,” the company said in an application seeking clearance from the environment ministry. The integrated gas-based petrochemical complex at Pata has been operational since 1999. It recovers ethane-propane from natural gas coming from Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur pipeline and converts it into petrochemicals. The polymer production capacity of the Pata petrochemical complex doubled to 810 KTA last financial year (2018-2019) from 410 KTA earlier, according to GAIL’s latest annual report. “Overall production from the Pata complex in 2018-19 was 751 KTA. The company exported 110 KTA of polymers to Asian markets. The company’s market share in the domestic polyethylene market has been maintained and is the second-largest player in the Indian market with a portfolio of over 1,000 KTA of polyethylene,” it said. The company’s board has also approved an Rs 8,800 crore project for the revival of an existing LPG plant at Usar in Maharashtra by converting it into 500 KTA Polypropylene complex. This would be a first-of-its-kind project in the country using propane dehydrogenation technology for production of Propylene integrated with the downstream Polypropylene unit. GAIL marketed around 1,000 KTA of polymers last financial year ended March 2019. Overall, the company’s revenue from the petrochemical segment increased 14.50 percent to Rs 6,704 crore last fiscal. In the first quarter ended June 2019, GAIL’s revenue from petrochemical operations declined 31 percent to Rs 1,113 crore.
French oil major Total signs asset transfer deals with Qatar Petroleum
French oil major Total said it had signed deals to transfer some of its assets in Kenya, Guyana and Namibia to Qatar Petroleum. In Namibia, Total will transfer to Qatar Petroleum a 30% interest in Block 2913B while keeping a 40% interest. Total will also transfer 28.33% in Block 2912 while retaining a 37.78% stake. In Guyana, Qatar Petroleum will have 40% of the company holding Total’s existing 25% interests in the Orinduik and Kanuku blocks. In Kenya, Total and Eni will transfer a combined 25% interest in Blocks L11A, L11B and L12 to Qatar Petroleum.
India offers 7 oil, gas blocks for bidding under OALP-IV
India on Monday offered for bidding seven new areas for prospecting of oil and natural gas on revamped exploration terms that look to expedite cut in import dependence by raising domestic output. Five blocks offered are in little-explored Vindhyan sedimentary basin, while one block is in Bengal Purnea basin. The remaining block is the proven basin of Rajasthan, according to a press statement by the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH). In all, 18,509.69 square kilometre of area for exploration of oil and gas has been offered in the fourth bid round of Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP). The government has under the previous three OALP rounds awarded 87 blocks covering an area of 1.18 lakh sq km. OALP-IV is the first round being held on revamped terms approved in February 2019. DGH said, unlike previous rounds where blocks were awarded to companies offering a maximum share of oil and gas to the government, blocks in little or unexplored Category-II and III basins will be awarded to companies offering to do maximum exploration programme. While Vindhyan is Category-II basin block, Bengal Purnea is Category-III area where no exploration has happened so far. The revamped policy also provides for “shorter exploration period, concessional royalty rates to expedite oil and gas production and introduction of alternative dispute resolution mechanism,” the statement said. Under OALP, companies are allowed to carve out areas they want to explore oil and gas in. Companies can put in an expression of interest (EoI) for any area throughout the year but such interests are accumulated thrice in a year. The areas sought are then put on auction. DGH said the last date for bidding for OALP-IV blocks is October 31. “It is expected that OALP Round IV would generate immediate exploration work commitment of around USD 200-250 million,” it said. The 5th cycle of submitting EoIs is currently going on till November 30, 2019, and would be followed by the 6th cycle from December 1, 2019, till March 31, 2020, DGH said. The Vindhyan basin covers areas under the Son valley, Bundelkhand and Rajasthan, while the Bengal Purnea basin is in West Bengal and extends into the offshore region of the Bay of Bengal. Under the revamped policy, Category-1 basin areas, where production has already been established, are bid out on a combination of exploration work programme and revenue share to the government in 70:30 ratio. The seven category-I explored basins in India are Cambay, Mumbai Offshore, Rajasthan, Krishna Godavari, Cauvery, Assam Shelf, and Assam-Arakan Fold Belt.
BP, Chevron among approved bidders for Brazil October oil auction
BP, Chevron Corp and China’s CNOOC are among 12 companies cleared to bid in an October exploration rights auction in Brazil, oil regulator ANP said on Monday. Exxon Mobil Corp, Colombia’s Ecopetrol SA, Norway’s Equinor ASA, Australia’s Karoon, Qatar’s QPI, Spain’s Repsol SA, Royal Dutch Shell PLC , France’s Total SA and Brazil’s state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA also won approval to bid in the auction.
HPCL buys over 120,000 T gasoline for Sept-Oct delivery, seeks more
India’s Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd is seeking more gasoline after having purchased more than 120,000 tonnes of the fuel for September to early October delivery from the spot market to plug a supply gap, industry sources said on Tuesday. The state-owned refiner has been actively seeking gasoline from the spot market this year as Indian refiners undergo maintenance and up-gradation to produce cleaner fuels. HPCL recently bought the cargoes for September to early October arrival at Visakhapatnam (Vizag) and Mundra from BP, Emirates National Oil Co and Trafigura, but the premiums were not immediately available. This however could not be confirmed as the buyer and its sellers do not typically comment on their deals. HPCL’s latest tender is for 30,000 tonnes of gasoline scheduled for Oct. 5-8 arrival at Vizag and offers are to be submitted by Aug. 28. It is not the only Indian refiner looking to import gasoline. Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd and Indian Oil Corp have also been seeking the fuel. This has pushed India’s gasoline imports in July to the highest in at least 8 years, official data showed. But India’s gasoline exports were at a two-month high of 1.16 million tonnes in July, or about 16% below May’s export volumes when they were at a two-year high, the data showed. August data will be available next month.